Golf has become a tremendously popular game, not just in the United States, but worldwide. The game has become so popular that it is often difficult to secure "tee" times at sufficiently reasonable hours to be able to play through nine or eighteen holes while still playing in daylight.
Because golf courses often have holes that average 300 to 400 yards in length and cover large areas, it is difficult, if not impossible, to illuminate an entire course to permit play at night. As such, golf is a particularly limited daytime game. Some "pitch and putt" courses may be sufficiently illuminated to permit play in the evening, however, most individuals that play the game of golf would, of course, prefer to play a standard length course.
Attempts have been made to provide golf balls that are sufficiently visible in the dark to permit evening play. However, such golf balls are typically coated with luminous paints, or include chemiluminescent lighting devices, and do not provide a sufficiently long period of bright or strong luminescence to permit play of an entire round of evening golf. One known device includes a chemiluminescent light stick that is inserted into an opening in the ball. When the light stick is activated, it emits a low luminescent light that is visible for a limited period of time. Such chemiluminescent golf balls may include a translucent outer skin or coating to permit a wider range of view of light emitted from the ball. However, those who have had occasion to use a chemiluminescent light sticks will recognize that such sticks often lose their ability to emit a relatively bright light in a short period of time. Moreover, such liquid chemiluminescent light stick inserts can affect the weight and balance of the ball, and thus the flight of the ball.
Another glow-in-the-dark golf ball includes a phosphorescent or luminescent glowing element that is molded within the center of the ball. The ball includes a translucent or transparent outer cover that permits the internal luminescent element to be viewed through the outer covering of the ball. However, these golf balls suffer from the same drawbacks as those that include chemiluminescent light sticks.
Game balls having lights installed therein are known in the art. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art and by those that play the game of golf, golf balls are subject to tremendously high impact forces during play. As such, while attempts have been made to create golf balls that will provide a sufficient amount of light such that they can be seen along a fairway in the evening, such attempts have fallen short of creating a golf ball that can withstand the tremendous impact forces and still retain the lighting device or lighting element in condition to emit light.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for an illuminated golf ball that emits sufficient light to permit locating the ball along a fairway at night, which ball withstands the severe impact forces and other environmental conditions to which the ball may be subjected.